High school football: San Juan makes history with 2A state championship victory

San Juan made history Saturday night at Zions Bank Stadium.

The Broncos defeated South Summit 57-10 to win the 2A state championship. By so doing so, San Juan has now won its fifth straight state championship, becoming just the fourth team in state history to win five or more consecutive championships.

When referencing the record, San Juan head coach Barkley Christensen praised the work ethic his team has continued to have.

“It just speaks volumes to the hard work these kids put in. The kids have worked extremely hard, and this is what it’s all for. It’s just a testament to our kids, how hard they work and how much the community supports us,” said Christensen.

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San Juan set the tone right from the start, scoring on its first drive of the game with a 5-yard Jagger Nieves rushing touchdown.

With that touchdown, Nieves tied the single season state rushing record at 38.

“You don’t get kids like Jagger in small towns. I can say this with 100% confidence; Jagger has been one of the hardest working guys I’ve ever coached in the world. He leads by example, and everything that he’s got, he’s definitely earned,” said Christensen.

Nieves got the record all to himself midway through the second quarter when he got his second rushing touchdown of the game, this one on a short 1-yard rush into the end zone.

For the night, Nieves finished with 137 yards rushing and three rushing touchdowns to go along with 79 receiving yards and a touchdown through the air.

“We were able to just come out with energy from the very beginning, yelling and cheering each other on and just getting everybody hyped up,” said Nieves.

“Breaking the record means a lot. My line definitely helped, and those guys are dogs. It definitely means a lot and this what I always wanted to do.”

San Juan quarterback Beau Yeomans had himself a stellar night behind center, going 12 for 17 with 326 yards passing and three touchdowns to three different receivers.

San Juan dominated in every phase of the game, putting up 38 points in the first half while holding South Summit to a single field goal.

The offense was explosive for San Juan in the half, with 149 rushing yards to go along with an astounding 288 passing yards.

For the game, San Juan had 578 total offensive yards with 326 coming through the air and 253 on the ground.

“It really gets emotional for me every time because these kids put in so much hard work. These kids breathe and sleep football,” Christensen said.

“It’s what they do. They show up, work hard and we take them and help them grow. It’s really cool to see.”